Mohamed Diame, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Grant Hanley came into his starting XI.

And Diame, back from the Africa Cup of Nations, was superb in the first half. The midfielder made a series of powerful runs forward, but Derby almost took the lead after a Ritchie backpass found Darren Bent.

Ciaran Clark, however, was able to tackle Bent before he could shoot at goal.

Newcastle took the lead in the 27th minute thanks to a deflected shot from Ritchie, whose effort looped into Scott Carson's goal.

Chances came and went for United after the interval – Mitrovic scuffed the best opportunity – and Benitez also lost Hayden to injury.

Hayden was replaced by Perez, who played at No 10. That change saw Diame drop into a deeper role, and the Senegal international was less of a threat in the second half.

Tom Ince missed a glorious chance to put Derby level.

And Newcastle survived a nervous finale – DeAndre Yedlin made a goalline clearance –to claim all three points and end a difficult week on a high.